Don't Know Nothing 'Bout Love
by GrayBlueSky
Summary: He was dense and had as much knowledge about love as an eight year old probably did. He was in no rush, however. That was until he met her. She was weird. But also beautiful. And suddenly, Natsu was feeling something he had never felt for another girl every time she smiled. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail! Hiro Mashima does!**

 **Don't Know Nothing 'Bout Love**

 **Chapter 1**

 _So she said, what's the problem baby?_

He was dense. Everyone knew that, even he did, but he would never admit it.

At eighteen, Natsu Dragneel had yet to experience love. He loved his friends. Even the damn pervert he considered his best friend, but he would never tell him that. However, his friends claimed there was something deeper than that, a love that was different than that love he felt for his close friends and family. It was a type of love that not everybody found. It was something magical. And once you find it and it is mutual, it becomes one of the best things this messed up world has to offer.

Yet Natsu had never once minded not having that sort of feeling for anyone. He liked having friends and spending time with them and his family. He didn't care for things such as going out on dates with girls. He didn't need anything like that. He was fine with how things were now. He liked his life as it was.

But his friends and family thought otherwise. That's why they had set him up on a blind date. Apparently they all thought his childhood friend, Lisanna Strauss, and him were "meant to be together." He, however, thought that was bullshit. Who were they to chose who was meant for him? Why did they even care if he did or didn't have a girlfriend? He was find with it, so shouldn't they be too?

"Natsu?"

The pink haired teen blinked, noticing that he had spaced out from his conversation with Lisanna.

She giggled. "Were you even listening to what I was saying?"

"Huh? Ah… Something about MiraJane and Elfman?"

She gave him a small smile, looking down at the table they sat at. Gray, his supposed best friend, had set them up to meet at a coffee place in Magnolia. It was pretty busy now, other conversations going around them as they sat their in an awkward silence.

Lisanna sighed as she looked up and frowned when her eyes caught his. "You really didn't want to come, did you?"

Natsu gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Lisanna." He didn't want to lie to her, after all, she was a precious friend of his.

But by the look she gave him, he felt guilty for not being able to reciprocate her feelings. "I figured as much." She forced a smile, making him frown.

She slowly stood up, setting down the money for the coffee she had ordered. She stopped before leaving and turned to give him one last small smile. "Don't force yourself to feel something for someone else, alright? The right girl will come around."

Natsu sighed and his frown deepened as he looked up at her. "Sorry again, Lisanna."

She patted his shoulder and winked at him. "Don't worry Natsu, I was kind of expecting this anyways. I just…" She shrugged and gave him another forced smile. "Forget it. I'm happy just being your friend, so don't worry about this."

And with that, she left him there all by himself. "Would you like me to bring you the check, sir?"

Natsu slumped down on his chair and nodded at the waiter. He didn't understand why he couldn't feel anything "special" for any girl he met. Was there something wrong him? He shook his head. No, he knew there must be another explanation. But what?

Maybe he should listen to his stepmother, Grandine. Maybe he just hadn't met the right girl.

* * *

"You're an idiot." Gray told him the next day.

Natsu glared at his dark haired friend. "Shut up, pervert."

Gray rolled his eyes. "I don't get it, why the hell did you let her go?! I mean, Lisanna is freakin' hot!"

Natsu shrugged. "I just don't like her like that. So stop meddling in my love life."

Gajeel, who had silently been listening to their conversation, snorted. "What love life, idiot?"

Natsu glared at him, his fist tightening by his side, threatening to punch the boy that sat across from him. "Like you can talk."

Gajeel smirked. "As a matter of fact, I can. I have a girlfriend, if you have forgotten."

Natsu snorted at that. "And why should I believe you? We've never once seen this supposed girlfriend of yours, metal face."

Gajeel glared at the pink haired idiot. "She's damn real, pink haired bastard!"

"Oi." Gray called as he sighed, not wanting to be part of one of their usual brawls. "But Natsu does have a point." He suddenly chimed in, earning him a glare from his long haired friend.

Natsu smirked in triumph as Gray, finally, agreed with him in something.

"She's really shy." Gajeel mumbled. There was a faint blush on the supposed tough Gajeel Redfox that made Natsu burst out laughing.

Gray smirked. "Wow. You seriously are love struck."

Gajeel didn't respond, instead he only rolled his eyes.

"So what's the lucky girl's name?" Gray continued, inching closer in his seat as he saw Gajeel's cheeks darken.

"Levy." He mumbled.

"Hmmm. Does she go to school with us?"

Gajeel sighed loudly. "No. She goes to a private, all girls school."

"Oh? A proper girl she must be… How she set her eyes on you?!" Gray couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled on his throat as Gajeel glared at him and stood up, punching the table that stood between them.

"You want to go, damn stripper?!"

Gray cleaned the tears that had gathered by the corners of his eyes and shook his head. "Calm down, lover boy. It was just a question."

Gajeel sighed and sat back down on his chair. Natsu had silently been watching his two friends and had grown quite interested on the conversation. He was a little curious as to how Gajeel had fallen for that girl Levy.

"How did you two meet?" He suddenly questioned, taking his two friends by surprise. Natsu hadn't ever been interested in their love lives, he always zoned out whenever the topic was brought up.

Gajeel folded his arms over the table. "At the public library." He murmured.

Gray almost choked on his drink. "What the hell were you doing there?!"

Gajeel looked about ready to punch his friend's supposed pretty face. "What the hell are you implying, stripper?"

Gray smirked. "I can't even picture _you_ at the library. I mean, come on, why would you even be there? You fall asleep every time you open a damn book."

"People can change." Gajeel mumbled.

Natsu and Gray looked at each other, and both burst out laughing.

"Oh God, I can't breath." Gray choked out between laughter.

Gajeel looked about ready to punch them both, but stopped himself. "It's part of my community service, alright? Fucking Scarlet assigned it to me."

"Oh? She signed you up for community service too? I'm supposed to start mine in a week." Natsu told him. He then shuddered. "I have to take care of little kids."

Gray raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about that?"

Natsu sighed. "Erza apparently volunteers there as well. She's gonna keep an eye on me, since, well, she doesn't trust I'll be on my best behavior if I were on my own."

Gajeel started laughing, getting on Natsu's nerves. "So she's basically babysitting you?"

Gray grinned. "You know, it's enough having to deal with her in school, now you have to see our guidance counselor even on the weekends? That fucking sucks. I kinda feel bad for you."

Natsu glared at them. "Maybe it won't be so bad." He murmured.

Gray and Gajeel exchanged a look and then they both started laughing. "Erza Scarlet will be there, Natsu. She's gonna give you hell for everything you've done in school."

"I just have to take care of little kids… It's not that bad." Natsu continued, folding his arms in front of him. "I mean, it'll be just like taking care of Wendy." Or at least he hoped so.

But his words hadn't stopped their laughter.

They soon had left the mall and they had each gone their separate ways. It was still pretty early, around six in the afternoon. It was already past mid september, the beginning of fall.

Natsu walked by the park, watching the swings hang unused, almost tempted to go sit down on them, but stopped himself when he saw two grining kids run over to them.

How he sometimes wished he could go back to simpler times, where he could be carefree and have no responsibilities.

The ground was filled with colored leaves, crunching under his shoes. The warm air blowed by the trees, leaves blowing away. Natsu smiled to himself and crossed his arms behind his head as he walked down the street and towards his house.

And then he saw her.

His arms had fallen to his sides as he watched her long blonde hair blow with the wind. Vanilla. That had been the first scent his sensitive nose had picked up. She was smiling, completely distracted by her surroundings as she talked on her phone.

Their shoulders had barely touched as their paths crossed. Natsu had stopped, turning around to find her also looking back at him. Her brown eyes caught his and she smiled, moving her hair behind her ear as leaves danced around them with the wind. Natsu's eyes widened at first, but a grin soon graced his lips.

"Oh sorry, Levy-chan." She suddenly said, and she glanced one more time in Natsu's direction before she gave him one last smile. She took a step forward, and then turned back around, finding Natsu still staring at her. She giggled and waved at him.

His was stunned by the gesture from this complete stranger, yet he still, slowly, waved back. She grinned and turned back to continue her walk. Natsu chuckled and turned around, not minding the weird feeling in his stomach. He shoved his hands on his jeans' pockets and watched as she walked away, soon turning and continuing his walk.

And it wasn't until he got home and bounced his basketball in his backyard, that he questioned ever seeing her again.

But he shook his head. Why did he even care? He shouldn't. So he didn't.

And with that, he shot his basketball and grinned when it made it into the hoop.

* * *

"Natsu-san! Wake up!" He was shaken out of his sleep by his younger step sister one early Saturday morning.

He groaned. "What is it, Wendy." He turned towards his alarm clock and saw the bright read numbers that read that it was eight in the morning. "It's Saturday, Wendy. Why are you waking me up so early?" He whined as he covered his head with his pillow, blocking the sunlight that came through his half opened window.

"You have to go to the community service Erza-san assigned for you, remember? It starts at nine. You'll be late if you don't get up now."

Natsu groaned again into his pillow. "It's too early." He mumbled, pulling his covers over his head.

Wendy sighed. "Erza-san is going to kill you if you're late."

An image of his scary guidance counselor was all it took to get him up from bed. "That damned crazy lady." He murmured and Wendy giggled.

"Hey, it'll be fun. I've been there before. The kids are all very nice and there a lot of really fun people helping out all the time."

Natsu fell back onto his bed, sighing loudly. He closed his eyes again, wanting nothing more than to stay there for at least a few more hours.

"Natsu-san…" Wendy started again, sighing loudly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He mumbled, finally getting out of bed. As soon as Wendy left his bedroom he quickly got dressed, not forgetting his usual scarf his father had given him.

He saw Igneel, his father, at the kitchen table reading the newspaper as he entered the kitchen.

"Good morning son!" Igneel greeted, grinning over at Natsu.

"Here's your breakfast!" Grandine announced, kissing Natsu's cheek as she handed him the plate. Natsu grinned at the smell and thanked her as he walked to sit with his father.

"All ready for today?" Igneel asked him. Natsu shrugged, almost devouring the food in front of him as he shoved eggs and bacon into his mouth.

Grandine laughed as she watched him and sat beside him. "Please be good, Natsu. I don't want you getting into more trouble with Erza-san."

Natsu rolled his eyes, scooting away his plate as he finished up. "I won't."

"That's what you said last time, son." Igneel sighed.

Natsu glared at him. "I'll be good, alright?"

Grandine nodded. "Do your best!"

Natsu sighed, nodding as he waved goodbye to them and walked out to the living room.

"Meow." He looked down and smiled when he saw his blue cat.

"See you later, Happy." He petted him and then stepped out of his house.

He shoved his hands into his jeans' pockets and began his walk.

"Natsu-san!"

He turned around to see a flustered Wendy running towards him.

"What's up, Wendy?"

She took in a deep breath as she caught up to him. "I'm also volunteering." She grinned. "My tutor said she would need extra help today. So she requested for my assistance. Even Chelia will be there!" Her eyes brightened as she mentioned her best friend.

Natsu chuckled. "Is your tutor the owner or something?"

Wendy looked up at him as they walked side by side. "No, she's just volunteered there for a very long time and is in charge of the K1 group." Natsu raised an eyebrow. Wendy sighed. "It's the group for children in kindergarten and first grade. Lucy- san is great with children! She actually said we both could help her group instead of Erza's, if she allows it of course."

Natsu grinned at that. "I would rather help out this Lucy girl than spend my entire Saturday with Erza."

Wendy giggled.

They soon stood in front of a tall building. Wendy guided Natsu towards two large glass doors. Natsu watched as mothers stepped out of their cars and walked over with their children to those same doors. Kids ran passed him, enthusiastic smiles on their faces as they cheered and laughed. Girls walked in with red cheeks and cute dresses, some holding tightly onto their dolls.

"Be good, alright? Mommy will be back for you in a few hours." Natsu watched as mother's left their children, some tearing up, others looking more than ready to get inside.

Once he and Wendy stepped inside, he saw a bunch of rooms, children of different ages waiting in lines to get into the different rooms. Boys ran around with basketballs and footballs, girls stood beside one another playing with their dolls.

Natsu watched as the kids all got a sticker with their name and group name.

"Natsu! Wendy!" Natsu shuddered at the sound of the voice that called out to them.

"You guys are finally here." Erza approached them, nodding at them in approval at arriving in time.

"Good morning, Erza-san."

Before Erza could respond to Wendy's greeting, a pink haired girl walked passed Erza and towards Wendy.

"Wendy! What took you so long?! Levy-san and Lucy-san have been asking for you." Wendy looked sheepish as she watched her best friend.

"Natsu-san had a hard time waking up." Wendy glanced at Natsu and Chelia giggled as she shook her head.

She took hold of Wendy's hand and pulled her towards the first door to the right of the main entrance. "Let's get started! I think Asuka-chan is already inside!"

Wendy giggled. "But she's most likely already following Lucy-san around."

Natsu sighed as he watched them leave. He turned to Erza and asked, "Where am I going?"

Erza eyed him warily before she sighed. "I wanted you to come with me and my group but Lucy asked if you could help her instead. She thinks you'll be more comfortable having Wendy around. I trust Lucy will keep you from doing anything reckless." She glared at him and he shivered. "I also trust you to be in your best behavior. I don't want to get any complaints about you from Lucy."

Natsu nodded. "I'll do my best."

She smiled as she crossed her arms under her chest. She then nodded towards where Wendy and Chelia had gone off to. "Well, you should get over there now."

Natsu nodded again as he turned and left Erza behind. The room was pretty big, with a lot more children than he had anticipated. There was a bouncer with double slides, childrens loud laughs filling the room as they slid down and hurried back up to slide down again.

There was a stage in the middle of the room. A huge pirate chest sat in the middle of the stage with prizes inside. A bowl of candy sat right beside it as well. There was also a huge K and a one standing by the far left of the stage.

By the other side of the room tables were spread out with different activities for the children. There were also areas with TVs and video games. Natsu grinned. He knew where he would be spending most of his time.

There were also hula hoops in the middle of the room and roller boards spread out through the entire room.

"Natsu?" Someone suddenly asked. He quickly looked back at the familiar voice.

He saw white hair and blue eyes and grinned. "Mira? Whatcha doing here?"

Lisanna's older sister, MiraJane Strauss, smiled sweetly back at Natsu. "I volunteer here every weekend."

Natsu's grin widened. "That's great! One more familiar face around here. I told those bastards that this whole volunteering thing wouldn't be so bad!"

Mirajane giggled as she watched Natsu. "Oh Natsu, you never change." He looked down at the necklace she wore with a nametag with her name.

"Where do I get one of those?" He asked her, pointing at the name tag. Mira looked down at it and pointed at the back of the room where a desk with a computer stood at.

"You need to ask Lucy for it. But first you should sign some papers over with Levy."

Natsu nodded and thanked Mira before he walked over to the computer desk, watching as a small, blue haired girl typed behind the rather large computer. He glanced at her from behind the computer and started, "Ehm… Levy?"

The girl with red glasses almost immediately looked up. "Yes?"

"Uhm… I'm Natsu Dragneel, Wendy Marvel's step brother... I'm here to do some community service. Mira just told me I have to sign some papers here from you."

The small girl smiled and nodded, standing up and walking around the desk to stand in front of him. She handed him a paper and a pen. "Nice to meet you, Natsu. Hopefully this place will be of your liking! And don't forget to enjoy yourself here as well!" She grinned and he chuckled at her enthusiasm. Watching the short girl, he noticed her name tag and her name suddenly seemed very familiar. Levy? Where had he heard that name before? He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember but gave up after a minute of thinking. He quickly signed the papers she had handed to him and returned them to her.

Levy took them and smiled up at him. "You are now an official member of Magnolia's Day Care Center!"

Natsu grinned, her enthusiasm quite contagious. "So where do I get a name tag?"

"Oh!" Levy looked around the rather large room until her eyes finally landed on what she was looking for, or more precisely whom. She perked up once she found her friend and yelled, "Lu-chan!"

Natsu followed the short girl's gaze and his eyes widened as soon as he saw the girl that stood at the other side of the room. She was surrounded by children, she held a book as they sat around her in a circle, listening attentively as she read them the story.

Her hair was different from when he had seen her before, instead of her long blonde hair being down and flowing down her back, she had tied it but into a side pony tail.

Natsu was sure it was her. This girl was the same girl he had seen the other day.

She looked up when her friend called her name, and slowly stood up as Levy motioned her to come over.

Natsu watched as the children whined as she left, a couple of girls walking after her. One of them held tightly onto the blonde's hand as she approached Natsu and Levy.

"Hey Levy-chan." She then turned to Natsu and her eyes slowly widdened in realization. "Hey! I've seen you before!"

Natsu chuckled. She was pretty damn cute, but also a total weirdo. He extended his hand out to her, "Natsu Dragneel." He stated.

She stared at his hand with a dumbfounded expression before she realized she had been staring at it for too long and sheepishly took his hand with her free one. The little girl with light brown hair and red cheeks watched them with wide eyes and then turned to look at Natsu as he laughed at the blonde. "You're a weirdo."

Lucy pouted at the name, an annoyed look taking over her usual carefree and loving personality. "I'm no weirdo! I'm Lucy! Lucy Heartfilia."

"Luigi?" Natsu asked, laughing harder as she glared at him and yelled, "It's Lucy! Lu-cy!"

The small girl, that had been crying just minutes before when her mother left her, started giggling. Both Lucy and Natsu looked down at the small girl before she said in between giggles, "You're both weird! But in a funny way!"

Levy joined the little girl, giggling at her words. A loving smile suddenly took form on Lucy's lips and she bent down to hug the small girl.

"You're too adorable!" The little girl's giggles increased and Lucy picked her up and then turned around to Natsu again.

"What can I do for you?"

"Oh, right!" Levy perked up. "He wants a name tag." Lucy nodded, and walked over, with the small girl still in her arms, towards the computer desk and pulled out a small box. She took out a red necklace and then took out a name tag and wrote his name before clipping it to the red necklace.

"All done!" She grinned and handed the necklace to Natsu, but the small girl took it away from Lucy.

Lucy raised an eyebrow and the small girl smiled, cheeks getting red. "Can I put it on him, Lucy-nee?"

The blonde smiled. "Of course."

Natsu grinned at the small girl and then turned to Lucy, who motioned for him to bend down a little. He did as she asked and felt as the small girl slipped the necklace over his head. "Done!" She exclaimed, clapping her small hands as she watched him stand up straight with his new name tag.

"Thanks!" He grinned at her and the girl's face reddened when he patted her head.

Lucy smiled sweetly at Natsu. And then, there was that weird feeling in his stomach again.

She turned to leave, but stopped herself. She looked back at him and said, "It's nice to meet you, Natsu. I hope you like it here."

And though at first he thought he wouldn't, he would definitely enjoy his time here. He would have something to look forward to every weekend.

"I'm sure I will." Levy giggled and Lucy smiled at him.

"You're definitely not as bad as Erza described you." She admitted and her cheeks turned a light pink color. "And you look nothing like a delinquent." She grinned. "But who knows, maybe you are a trouble maker."

He grinned back at her and gave her an innocent shrug. She laughed and shook her head as she walked back to the group of kids she had been with before, all cheering at her return.

He felt something warm spread in his chest as he watched her interact with the children. "They really like her, huh?" He suddenly mumbled.

Levy smiled and nodded. "Most of them only like coming here because of her. She's great with children."

Natsu suddenly found himself walking over to the circle of kids, and sat himself down to listen to Lucy's story telling. The small girl from before hurried over to him and sat down on his lap, a huge grin on her face as she looked up at him. He grinned back at her and looked up to find Lucy watching them. She raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. He mouthed for her to continue and she blinked a few times before she cleared her throat and continued reading the book.

If you asked him when he fell for her, he would tell you he didn't exactly know, it had just happened. But if he could pinpoint how it had started, and when he had started to see her differently than other girls, he would tell you about this very moment.

The way she read the story, the way her voice sounded like a sweet melody, the way her eyes softened when they looked at the children, at him, and the way she smiled that sweet smile of hers made him want to stay there with her longer.

What was his problem? He didn't know… Was this what Gajeel felt when he was around that girl he liked? Natsu shook his head. No. This was different. It had to be. God, he had just met her! And she was a weirdo.

A pretty damn beautiful weirdo.

Oh dear Mavis…

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter! I kinda improvised with this story and just flowed with it. So hopefully it was good. This is my first NaLu fic so I really do hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Song: Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows**

 **Blue**


	2. Chapter 2

**a.n.: hey everyone! I want to give a shout out to those of you that reviewed the first chapter ;) So… A special thank you to thatonenalushipper, Invisibility, thao, Guest, EchizenRyoma, Lady Anime Cat, and epicman1013.**

* * *

 **Don't Know Nothing 'Bout Love**

 **Chapter 2**

 _What's the problem? I don't know…_

He was getting used to this community service thing more and more as the weeks passed.

It was around his third week there that he didn't even complain to his friends about having to go. He enjoyed going, actually. Weirdly enough, he looked forward to going back. He couldn't wait for the weekends. He wanted to see the kids, he wanted to see Mira and Levy, but there was one person in particular that he looked forward to see the most. Her smile, her weird faces, her laugh, everything about her, made him feel something he had never felt around any other girl. What was wrong with him? He didn't know…

Ignoring it would be best, so he did. He was sure it was nothing special. He just really liked Lucy… As a friend! Just a friend…

He suddenly felt like he needed to be clear about those feelings with himself and Lucy. So he walked up to her one Saturday afternoon as she was helping a little girl color in her coloring book.

Lucy had smiled at him as he approached them. And then there was that weird feeling in his stomach again. Ignore it, ignore it. Damn it, Natsu! He shook his head and grinned back at her.

"I need to tell you something." Lucy raised an eyebrow and then nodded, standing up and leaving the little girl to finish the task by herself.

"What's up, Natsu?" she suddenly asked. She looked curiously up at him, making him struggle to get his words out.

"We're friends, right?" He looked straight into her chocolate colored eyes and saw as they widened at first but then she smiled at him.

"Of course we're friends." She giggled and shook her head. "But if I wasn't clear enough before," she started as she extended her hand towards him, "Let's be friends, Natsu."

His heart was suddenly thumping so hard in his chest that he feared taking her hand, thinking she would be able to feel his loud heartbeats. But he still took her warm, soft, small hand in his. He smiled back at her and nodded.

"Bestfriends." He suddenly blurted out and he wanted to run to the bathroom and smack himself at his stupidity.

Lucy giggled again. "Of course." She smiled warmly at him again, and he was suddenly wishing for this moment to never end.

Until some kid ruined his moment with Lucy. "They like each other." One purred and the others giggled. Lucy blushed, almost immediately taking her hand away from Natsu's. Natsu pouted at that. And then he glared at the kids.

"It's not like that!" Lucy looked extremely flustered and it made Natsu question if maybe she too felt something weird when she was around him.

And then something that he hadn't questioned before, popped in his head. Did she have someone she liked? Did she have a boyfriend? His hands unconsciously tightened by his sides.

"Natsu-san?" Natsu looked down to see Wendy looking up at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you alright?" She looked down at his hands and Natsu's eyes widened in realization, untightening his hands and shoving them onto his jeans' pockets.

"Yeah!" He tried grinning, but it had instead turned into a frown.

"You've been acting weirder than usual lately." Chelia suddenly chimed in, walking passed them with a box of legos, children chanting behind her to let them play with them.

Natsu glared at her, and she grinned. "Could it be that…" her eyes searched the room until they fell on Lucy and her grinned widened. "Oooh, I know what this is about." She chuckled and shook her head. "If you want to know anything about her you could just ask her." She shrugged. "Or if you're too shy…" she wiggled her eyebrows and laughed when he groaned. "You could just ask Levy-san, she's Lucy-san's best friend."

Natsu turned to the computer desk, where the small, blue haired girl sat at and debated whether to do as Chelia said or not. He was just a little curious, not big deal… But would he sound weird asking about such personal things? Chelia already seemed to think he liked Lucy… But… Did he?

Wendy seemed confused as she watched Chelia and Natsu. "What's going on?" She suddenly asked and Chelia grinned, hooking her arm with her best friend's.

"I'll tell you later." She then turned to Natsu and winked. "Good luck, lover boy."

Natsu groaned again, and stalked off to Levy's desk.

The short girl immediately looked up as he approached her. "Is something wrong, Natsu?"

Natsu sighed. "Actually…" He looked down. "I don't even know."

Levy seemed confused, but she gave him a small smile. "Can I help you in anything?"

He thought of asking her, but he shook the idea away. No. He and Lucy were only friends. That was it. He shouldn't care if she liked someone else or had a boyfriend. That was none of his business. But the knot in his stomach told him otherwise.

So instead of asking her what Chelia had suggested, he asked, "Can I go home early? I don't feel too good."

Levy frowned and then gave him a small smile, "Of course." She patted his arm. "If you still don't feel better by tomorrow, you don't have to come, alright? And don't worry about Erza, I'll tell her you weren't feeling well." She winked and he nodded, thanking her as he took off his name tag and started making his way out the door.

The cold air felt nice outside. He fixed his scarf and sighed as he began making his way down the street, texting Wendy that he had left early.

"Natsu!" His eyes widened at the sound of that voice. Could it be… He turned to see a flushed Lucy running after him. His mouth dropped open, not knowing what to say. And not knowing what she was doing running after him… What the hell was he getting excited for?! What was this feeling?

She stopped just a few steps in front of him. "Levy-chan told me you weren't feeling well." She looked down. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Her cheeks darkened, and Natsu's own cheeks started to feel warm. She was looking down as she mumbled, "I know there isn't much I can do, and I don't even know why I ran out after you." She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck. "I guess I am a weirdo, huh?"

Natsu grinned at that. He walked up to her and moved his hand towards her, wanting to pat her head all of a sudden, but stopped himself and instead shoved his hand in his jeans' pocket. "Yeah…" He mumbled, trying to hide his red cheeks behind his scarf.

Lucy smiled. "I hope you feel better soon." She told him and he nodded.

"Yeah," he looked up at the cloudy sky. "I hope so too."

And with that, Lucy walked back inside the building, waving goodbye at him as she closed the door after her.

He wasn't sick, he knew that much. So why was he feeling so damn weird?!

* * *

"So you like her?" Gray asked him after he told them about Lucy and the weird feelings he was getting around her.

"I don't." Natsu mumbled, crossing his arms in front of him. They were sitting outside on the school's rooftop, their usual hangout place during lunch break.

"Don't deny it, idiot. It's pretty fucking obvious that you like this Lucy girl." Gajeel shook his head as he took another bite of his sandwich.

"Who knew Natsu would ever fall for a girl." Loke Celeste suddenly chimed in, the two girls he had brought over for lunch giggled. Natsu glared at him.

"Natsu is finally a man!" Elfman Strauss declared, making Gray choke on his drink as he started laughing.

"I've always been a man, you damn idiot!" Natsu glared daggers at the weird, manly guy.

"I kinda want to meet this girl." Gray suddenly started, making Natsu raise an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Gray shrugged. "I mean, it sounds like she may also be a little interested in you. So, I mean, she couldn't be as good looking as you described her if she set her eyes on you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you damn stripper!?" Natsu grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, his fist just inches away from his face. But before he could get his frustration out on his friend, Gajeel pulled him away from Gray.

"Calm down, Dragneel. All he's saying is that you're too ugly for the girl you just described."

Loke bursted out laughing and the girls beside him giggled, but stopped themselves when Natsu glared in their direction.

"I told you this so you guys could help me! And you're doing everything but that!" Natsu sat down with his arms crossed and huffed loudly at his idiot friends. They were no help!

And it had to be the biggest idiot of them all to say first, "If you're a man, you'll just tell her how you feel!"

Natsu glared at Elfman and gave him the middle finger. "I'm done with your man crap! I don't even know what I feel for her, alright! So I can't tell her anything."

Gray sighed. "I think you like her." He stated. Natsu raised an eyebrow and Gray shrugged. "I mean, I've never really liked a girl. Like really liked her. I like going out with them and all, but I've never felt weird around any of them like you feel around this girl. So there isn't much I can help you with." He crossed his arms behind his head as he laid down and watched the cloudy sky. "But if you've never felt anything like this for another girl, than that may mean that you like her, right?"

Natsu thought about it for a while and then sighed. "I dunno." He hid his small smile behind his scarf as he mumbled. "Maybe."

"I think you should get to know her better. It took me a lot longer than three weeks to realize I liked Levy. And it was months later that I finally confessed to her." Gajeel shrugged.

Natsu's eyes widened in realization. "Levy?" he questioned and then he stood up. "Levy's your girlfriend?!"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "Uh… yeah." He then rolled his eyes. "I've told you this before…" But then he stopped himself and asked. "You know her?"

"Yeah!" Natsu grinned. "She also volunteers at the daycare center! She's a short, blue haired girl, right?"

Loke grinned. "Talk about complete opposites. You said she was a bookworm too, huh? How did you two even fall for each other?"

Gajeel glared down at the womanizer. "Shut your trap, playboy."

He then turned back to Natsu. "Yeah, that's Levy." He scratched the back of his neck. "She told me she volunteered at some place during the weekends but I forgot exactly where."

"It's not manly to not remember the things your woman tells you!" Elfman announced and Gajeel closed his eyes while mumbling, "Can I just push him off the damn rooftop?"

Gray caught his words and clutched his stomach as he started laughing. "Mira would kill you." He said between laughs. Gajeel grumbled at that.

"Damn demon woman." He then turned to Natsu. "About this Lucy girl, just confess how you feel, alright? It's that or just get to know her better… Whatever. I'm no good at giving advice, so you might as well disregard all my words." He rolled his eyes and sat back down beside a still laughing Gray.

"You all suck at advice." Natsu mumbled, feeling just as confused as before he told them, if not more.

* * *

"Why are you guys here?!" Natsu whined the next Saturday when Gray, Gajeel, and Loke showed up at the daycare center.

"We're volunteering here, pointy eyes."

"I'm here to see my girlfriend, idiot."

"I heard there's a lot of pretty girls volunteering here."

Natsu glared at them, knowing that they were really here to see who Lucy was. "Get out, get out, get out!"

He tried pushing them out but stopped when someone yelled, "Gajeel?!"

Levy ran passed Natsu and went to hug her tall, scary looking boyfriend. Gajeel blushed and both Gray and Loke snickered behind the two love birds.

"What are you doing here?" She looked up at Gajeel with pink cheeks, her brown eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"I wanted to see the girl this idiot likes." Gajeel lied, not wanting to say that he really came to see her, as he instead pointed at his pink haired, idiotic friend who was now glaring at him.

"Damn it, you fucker." Natsu cursed as Levy turned to him.

"Who do you like?" she questioned, but it only took her a few seconds before realization hit her. "Oh my God! You like Lu-chan?!"

Natsu's eyes widened and he moved to cover her mouth, only to get harshly pushed off by Gajeel as soon as his hand fell on Levy's mouth.

Natsu glared at him. "Make her keep quiet! Someone could hear!" He quickly looked around the room, making sure no one heard. But the room was quite full today, and he thanked his luck for that. There was enough noise for anyone to hear Levy's soft voice, and Lucy was not even in the room yet.

Levy giggled. "How did it even happen? I mean, Lu-chan told me you asked her to be best friends. I would have never guessed you liked her."

"You asked her what?" Gray asked, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes at his dumb friend. "You really are an idiot."

"I don't like her!" Natsu tried to deny, but they all raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing one word he said. "Alright," he hid his face behind his scarf as he said, "maybe just a little."

And that was all it took for Levy to start squealing. "Shut up!" Natsu began saying but stopped when Gajeel glared over at him.

"What's going on here?" Someone suddenly asked from behind Gray and Loke, and Natsu knew that voice all too well. It was _her_ voice. The same voice that kept appearing in all his dreams.

They all turned around to find the blonde girl, that looked very confused, but to Natsu, she looked prettier than ever when she looked confused. God, what was wrong with him?!

"Oh, hi Lu-chan." Levy smiled and both Gray and Loke, who had been blushing at the view of such a pretty girl, turned to each other as they asked, "This is Lucy?"

Natsu blushed when Lucy nodded, "Yes, I'm Lucy. And who are you?"

Both Gray and Loke almost yelled at the same time.

"Gray!"

"Loke!"

Then they glared at each other. But it was Loke who made the first move.

He walked towards Lucy and took hold of her hand as he asked her, "Would you like to go out on a date with me, princess."

Lucy blushed. "Princess?" she asked, pulling her hand away from Loke's when he tried kissing it.

Natsu had already made his way towards them and pushed Loke away when he tried moving towards Lucy again.

"Piss off, Loke." Lucy's eyes widened when she looked up at the pissed off Natsu, her heart beats going wild and her cheeks flushing. Maybe it also had to do with how Natsu was holding tightly onto her hand now. He realized that after a while and blushed a dark red and mumbled an apology as he let go of her hand.

Levy giggled awkwardly and then pushed forward passed Loke and Gray and pulled Gajeel with her. "This is Gajeel, Lu-chan!" She suddenly announced.

Gajeel glared down at his girlfriend but she only grinned up at him. Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" She looked at Gajeel and then at Levy, most likely thinking what they all had, that hey were the total opposites. But instead of what the guys thought, she thought they made a cute couple. She smiled warmly at Levy, and yes, Natsu's heart skipped a beat, as cheesy as that may sound.

"I'm happy for you, Levy-chan." She then turned to Gajeel and said, "It's nice to finally meet you. Levy-chan doesn't shut up about you, like ever." She grinned when Levy whined, "Lu-chan!"

She giggled and shrugged. "Sorry Levy-chan, the words just slipped out of my mouth." She winked and Levy stuck her tongue out at her best friend.

Lucy then turned to Gray and Loke and then back at Gajeel, "Are you guys here to volunteer?"

Gajeel shook his head and Levy tried convincing him to stay. Both Gray and Loke nodded and Natsu glared at them.

Lucy nodded and told them to sign some papers with Levy, who was still arguing with Gajeel about him staying. She looked up at Natsu and smiled before she walked off to a group of very excited children.

"She's so out of your league." Loke stated and Gray smacked him behind the head.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Loke whined but Gray instead turned towards Natsu.

"I think she may like you. So don't worry too much about how you're feeling. Just let things flow by themselves. You'll know when to take the next step." Natsu's eyes widened and then he grinned.

"Thanks."

Gray chuckled. "So what the hell are we supposed to do now?"

"First of all, don't use profanity." Mira suddenly appeared in front of them, a scowl on her face as she looked at Gray. "We do not want the children repeating that language, Gray."

Gray gulped. "Yes, ma'am!"

Mira smiled sweetly at him. "Alright! Your first task will be to help me clean up the mess in the bathroom."

"What?! I didn't sign up for this!"

"This will teach you not to use that kind of language."

Natsu and Loke sweat dropped as they watched Mira drag Gray away.

"God, she truly is a demon disguised as an angel." Loke chuckled.

"Who's a demon?" They both shivered when they heard the voice of a certain red head. They slowly turned to find their guidance counselor, Erza Scarlet, with arms crossed in front of her.

"No one!" They both exclaimed at the same time.

Erza eyed them for a few seconds before she sighed. "You fools better be in your best behavior around here."

They nodded, almost on cue. Erza nodded as well and walked off to her room.

Natsu sighed. He then turned to Loke and mumbled, "I know Lucy is out of my league, alright?" Loke's eyes widened, completely taken by surprise at Natsu's uncharacteristic seriousness. "But…"

His eyes landed on the blonde girl that was sliding down the bouncer's slide with a little girl on her lap. They both giggled as they made it down the slide and the little girl persisted to do it again, a line of other children whining that it was their turn to go on the slide with Lucy. His cheeks warmed when she told the little girl she would go with her in a little bit, and then smiled warmly at her and patted her head, making the little girl nod enthusiastically. Lucy then grabbed the small hand of a little boy that was next in line. As if feeling that someone was watching her, Lucy turned around and caught Natsu's onyx eyes. Her eyes widened at first but then she giggled and waved at him. Natsu knew he must have been blushing a deep red because he heard Loke chuckle as he looked down.

"But…" Natsu continued as he looked back up at the blonde, who was already making her way down the slide again. "She made me like her." He chuckled, knowing that sounded kinda weird, but it was the truth. She was a weirdo, she was childish, she was kind, she had a mother like aura, she was responsible, she was everything he wasn't, and she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met, inside and out. She was Lucy. And he liked her.

"I like her." He suddenly whispered, a little surprised by his own words and then he busted out laughing as he repeated, "I like her."

Loke chuckled beside him. "God, now we have two lovestruck fools in our group."

Was he love struck? No. Maybe? A little? A lot? He wasn't sure. He only knew he liked Lucy.

So… then he _was_ lovestruck?

"I guess I am."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Again thank you so much to those who took the time to review the first chapter. It really means a lot to me since this is my first time attempting to write a NaLu fanfic and I'm never confident about the outcomes of the chapters… so hopefully this chapter turned out good. Also a huge thank you to everyone that followed and favorited this story :)**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima :)**

 **Song: Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows**

 **Blue**


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.: Hi! I just want to give a shout out to those of you that reviewed the second chapter! A special thank you to Lady Anime Cat, Sunshine972, yepiz4, AngelsRoseX, and clarencebeeznut.**

* * *

 **Don't Know Nothing 'Bout Love**

 **Chapter 3**

 _Well maybe I'm in love_

It was getting harder to keep his racing heart in check every time she smiled as the weeks passed. Everytime she looked up at him and smiled he had to look away, his cheeks feeling a little too hot.

She, however, didn't seem to notice any of his weird behavior around her. But everyone else did, and he hated them all for mocking him. Even the children at the daycare center seemed to notice, and it was driving him nuts!

"He likes her! He likes her! He likes her!" They chanted as Natsu watched Lucy from across the room brade a little girl's hair, a line of girls waiting for their turn. He glared at the children that were gathered around him.

"Shut up, you little devils!" But to his luck, a certain someone had been near them and heard what he had just said. He was barely given a chance to dotch the football that was flying his way and landing on his abdomen. Natsu was grunting in pain as he pressed his hands to his stomach. The children that stood around him shrieked as a certain red headed devil approached them.

"Natsu! Why are you yelling at the children?!" Natsu sweat dropped and thanked God that ball hadn't landed any further down his body as he realized who had thrown the ball.

Erza was fuming as she stood in front of Natsu, her arms crossed under her chest as she tapped her foot in front of her, waiting for answers.

Natsu looked down and mumbled. "They got on my nerves."

A little girl pouted and then mumbled, "We were just saying that he likes Lucy-nee!"

The other children nodded in agreement. "That's nothing bad." Another girl chimed in, "Natsu-nii just likes Lucy-nee!"

Erza raised an eyebrow as she stared at the children and then turned to find a flustered Natsu fidgeting on the spot and then glaring at the children. "I- I d-do not!"

Mira suddenly appeared beside Erza and giggled. "Who would have thought Natsu would fall for our sweet Lucy! And he is so in denial! He's so cute!"

Erza's eyes widened and then she chuckled. "I thought he was too dense and too stupid to ever like someone." She mused as she watched Natsu argue with the children over whether he liked Lucy or not.

"Oh my! They grow up so fast!" Mira exclaimed and Erza sighed at her exaggeration, as usual.

"Why don't you just tell Lucy- nee how you feel?!" A little boy exclaimed, and all the children looked up at him as if he were brilliant.

Natsu's eyes widened. "No! I can't. 'Cause I don't like her!"

"He does!" Mira exclaimed. "And quit denying it!"

The pink haired teenager sighed loudly before he muttered under his breath, "All of you are a real pain in the ass."

Erza coughed. "Would you like to repeat that, Natsu?" The tone in her voice made him freeze immediately. How the hell had she heard him?!

"No, ma'am!"

Erza nodded, eyeing him warily as Mira sweat dropped beside her. The children were all staring at them with wide eyes, but soon their attention went to a small, dark haired girl that was suddenly jumping up and down with enthusiasm.

"If he's too shy to tell Lucy-nee, we should tell her for him!" A little girl with a hat, that Natsu knew her name was Asuka, exclaimed. Natsu glared at the little devil as she grinned and then led the children to where Lucy was at.

"Wait!" Natsu yelled, but the children ignored him. He turned to look at Mira and Erza for help but they both shrugged. Mira was smiling innocently and Erza had a smug grin that made him sigh in defeat.

He ran after the children, barely making it to Lucy before them. "Lucy-nee! I need to-" Asuka exclaimed but Natsu took her in his arms and covered her mouth with his hand.

Lucy had just finished braiding a girl's hair into a side braid and was now looking up at Natsu and Asuka with a raised eyebrow. "What's going on?"

One of the children that had followed Asuka was about to speak but Natsu cut him off when he said, "Nothing! The kids and I are just playing around! Right?!"

The kids gave him a confused look and Asuka fidgeted in his arms as she struggled to tell Lucy what she had intended to.

And it was then, just before the kids could blurt out anything, that Gray and Loke appeared behind the group of children that claimed to know that Natsu liked Lucy. "We're about to start a game of tag! Who wants to join us?!" Gray announced and all the children's eyes seemed to brighten in excitement as the raised their small arms.

"We do! We do!"

They all ran after Gray and Loke, forgetting what they had intended to tell Lucy just a few minutes before. Natsu thanked God for his friends' interference, finally liking the idea of them also volunteering there.

Asuka then bit Natsu's hand, making the teenager cry out from the sudden pain. He let her down and she glared at him. "I want to play too, you know? Boys are really dumb sometimes." She then turned to look at Lucy and smiled slyly as she said, "Lucy-nee you should only date smart boys, not dumb ones like Natsu-nii!"

Lucy's eyes widened as she stared at Asuka. Natsu's eye twitched in annoyance as he watched the small girl grin and then run off towards the middle of the room, where the children were listening to Loke as he explained the rules for their game of tag.

The blonde girl slowly looked up at Natsu and giggled as she mumbled, "Asuka- chan is really something, huh?"

Natsu sighed loudly and nodded as he sat down beside her. Their shoulders brushed, but neither of them drew away. Natsu glanced over at her and his eyes widened when he found that she had already been looking his way. Lucy's eyes widened as well when his eyes locked on hers and she quickly looked down. Natsu could barely detect the tiniest hint of red in her cheeks, making his heart go wild.

He had been so focused on Lucy that he could barely make out the music Levy had played as the children began their game of tag. Lucy was watching the children play with a gentle smile on her face and Natsu couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

It was then that he saw Asuka run up to him. At first he didn't realize what was going on and then he felt her small hand on his shoulder. "You're it!"

Natsu's eyes widened and Lucy giggled when he shook his head. "I'm not playing!"

Asuka shrugged. "Now you are."

Natsu sighed, slowly standing up as he muttered, "You better run 'cause I'm getting you first."

Asuka ran as fast as her small legs would let her, laughing as Natsu chased after her, picking her up when he finally caught up to her. Her cheeks were red as she giggled, and he took her cowgirl hat off her head and placed it on his head. "I win." He stated and she continued giggling.

He put her down and placed her hat on her head again, planning to walk back to Lucy but he felt a hand on the back of his leg. "You're it again!" Asuka exclaimed, laughing hysterically as she ran off towards Lucy, sitting down on the blonde's legs as they both giggled.

Natsu closed his eyes and sighed. He was just too old for this. Yet he ran after children as he tagged them and got tagged back, Gray and Loke mocking him every time he was tagged.

While he stopped to take a breath, quite exhausted from chasing five and six year olds, he looked over at Lucy. She was still sitting down, watching them play tag. Asuka was no longer sitting on her lap, as she had rejoined the game. Her eyes landed on his and his heart skipped a beat when she smiled and raised her right hand as she gave him a thumbs up and then chuckled. Natsu grinned and shook his head, only looking away when he felt someone pull on his shirt. He looked down and found a little girl with teary eyes that apparently had just been tagged but couldn't run as fast as the other children and couldn't tag them back.

"We'll get all of them, alright?" The little girl nodded, and Natsu put her down and bent down in front of her, getting her to climb on his back. She was hesitant at first, but her small hands slowly landed on his shoulders and he picked her up with ease.

"Okay, you'll tell me who to get, okay?" He looked back at her and she gave him an enthusiastic nod.

He grinned and he heard her giggle as he ran after children.

After the last child left the room, all the volunteers began to clean up the mess the children had left. Lucy was picking up the legos that were left scattered around the room and Natsu left Gray to disconnect the Xbox by himself as he walked towards Lucy.

"Need help?" He asked as he bent down beside her. She looked up and gave him a small smile as she nodded, whispering a thank you.

"You're great with children." She suddenly told him. He looked up, shocked at her words and she shrugged. "You are. Maybe it's because you're so child like." She was laughing and he glared at her.

"I am not." He mumbled and she laughed some more.

"I was just kidding." She told him. He looked up at her but she was again looking down as she picked up the legos and placed them in their assigned box.

"You are too." He suddenly told her and she looked up with wide eyes. "I mean, they all love you. You really are great with children."

Her cheeks turned a light pink and she looked down as she whispered, "Thank you." She scratched the back of her neck and glanced back up at him as she said, "I really love interacting with children. It's always been a dream of mine to work with children when I grow older. There's really nothing better than seeing them smile and enjoy their time here." She looked down at the toy she had just picked up and smiled a small smile. "Most of them don't spend much time with their parents since they are always working. I guess I just see myself in them sometimes and want them to have a good time."

Natsu raised an eyebrow, wanting to ask what she meant but she looked up and grinned at him. He knew she was forcing herself to grin and maybe that was her way to tell him she was alright, but somehow he knew she wasn't.

She stood up once all the toys were back in the box and bent down to pick the box up but Natsu picked it up instead. "Where does it go?" He asked and she smiled, thanking him as she walked him over to the back of the room, where other boxes were lined up by category. Natsu placed the box down on the toy section and stood up to find Lucy still there.

"Are you close to finishing your community service?" She suddenly asked, looking down at her shoes.

His eyes widened at her sudden question and he felt something weird in his stomach when he noticed the soft pink color in her cheeks. She wanted to know how much more time he would be volunteering here?

When he didn't answer, Lucy glanced up at him and Natsu rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down. "Nah. I'm not even half way. Erza wants me to do a hundred hours. It includes both the required hours for graduation and the hours she added for all the trouble I've caused in school." He shrugged and Lucy giggled.

"I've heard from both Erza and Gray that you're your schools prankster." She told him and he grinned.

"The best in Fairy Tail high! The ice princess has fallen for every single one of my pranks." He told her with utmost pride and she laughed.

"You must get in a lot of trouble."

Natsu shrugged and then gave her a smug grin. "Only when I get caught."

She grinned and shook her head. "You really are something, Natsu Dragneel."

He fixed his scarf and chuckled. "What can I say, Lucy Heartfilia. I'm awesome like that."

She rolled her eyes and shoved him away as he laughed.

"Everyone! Gather up!" They suddenly heard Mira yell.

Natsu looked down at Lucy and raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

Lucy smiled. "Next weekend is Halloween. Mira wants us all to dress up. The kids will also come dressed up." She looked excited, her eyes brightening as she told him. He smiled back at her.

"Someone's excited." He noted and she looked down as she giggled.

"Just a little." She shrugged. "It's nice when the children get excited to see us all dressed up."

They soon stood by the middle of the room where all the volunteers had gathered, waiting for Mira to tell them what would be going on next weekend. Erza was standing right beside her, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Alright, as you all may already know, next weekend is Halloween!" Mira exclaimed, a little too excited.

Gajeel came to stand beside Natsu and grumbled, "This is gonna be a real pain in the ass."

Natsu grinned. "I don't know, maybe it'll be fun."

Gajeel glared at him. "You're just saying that 'cause you want to kiss up to bunny girl's ass."

Natsu's cheeks turned a deep red. "I don't! And why do you call her that?!"

Gajeel smirked. "Levy has a picture of her dressed up like a bunny. You shouldn't see that picture, though. You'll get too turned on. And nobody wants to see that."

He was laughing and Natsu's blush went up his ears and down his neck. "Damn you, bastard! What the hell are you saying?!"

"Natsu! Gajeel!" They both freezed at the sound of that voice. Erza glared at them. "Would you like to share with everyone what you two are talking about?"

Gajeel grinned, "Well…" he started and Natsu cursed him under his breath.

"No ma'am! We're sorry!" Natsu apologized, his cheeks a dark red as Erza nodded and told Mira to continue.

Mira smiled before she continued by saying, "I've decided we will all dress up as characters from Disney movies!"

Wendy and Chelia both cheered while Gajeel, Gray, and Loke grumbled incoherent words.

Mira was suddenly smiling smugly as she took out a paper. "And I have taken the responsibility to choose what character each of you will be dressing up as."

"Oh, God." Gajeel murmured. "That damn devil woman."

Natsu raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Gajeel meant and looked up to see Mira grinning.

"I already have all the costumes ready so you guys don't have to worry about it." She looked towards Erza as she said, "Erza will be joining us next week to make sure some of you are in your best behavior." Erza nodded at that, knowing very well some of the boys would complain about the costumes Mira had picked out for them and she had to make sure they followed the rules.

Mira looked down at the paper she held onto and smiled sweetly as she looked back up at them. "Let's begin then." Natsu could see Lucy giggle beside Levy. They both looked excited to learn who they'd be dressing up as. "Erza will be dressing up as princess Ariel." Erza's cheeks turned a light red and then she nodded, commenting that that was a perfect choice since her hair was red.

"And as her prince…" Mira began with a devious smile, getting the attention of every guy in the room. Natsu gulped, fearing to hear Mira say his name.

"God, I knew the she devil would do something like this." Gajeel murmured and both Loke and Gray nodded, both sweat dropping as Mira giggled.

"Gray will be prince Eric!" Gray's eyes widened, a look of horror on his face as he mumbled about being cursed by bad luck. The remaining boys sighed in relief.

"I will be dressing up as Alice in Wonderland." Mira announced, a wide smile on her face as her eyes landed on the boys. "And Loke will be dressing up as the Mad Hatter."

Loke frowned, clear disapproval in her choice as he looked up at her. "What!? I'm clearly the better looking guy here, so I should be a prince!"

Mira continued to smile, while Erza glared over at Loke. "The choice has been made, Loke! Do you want to continue arguing about this?"

Her eyes dared him to speak after her and Loke looked down and shook his head. "I'll be the Mad Hatter." He muttered in defeat.

Erza nodded and Mira clapped her hands, excited to hear him agree. "Great! Now, Wendy," the blue haired girl looked up excited as Mira grinned and said, "You'll be Queen Elsa!" Wendy's eyes widened and Chelia cheered her on and only stopped when Mira said, "Chelia you will be princess Anna."

The two girls squealed after that, jumping up and down as they talked about how cute they would look in their costumes.

Natsu chuckled when he saw Wendy get so excited.

"Next up is Levy." The short girl looked up, her eyes glinting with excitement. "You will be princess Belle." Levy smiled, jumping up and down as she told Lucy that that was her favorite princess.

"Oh God," Gajeel suddenly murmured and Natsu turned to look at him.

"What?"

Gajeel sighed. "I'm gonna be the Beast, aren't I?" He asked Mira, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Yes!" Mira winked. "But don't worry, you won't dress up like a beast, we don't want you scaring the kids." Natsu and Gray bursted out laughing making their taller friend glare at them. "You'll dress up in his human form!" Mira continued and Gajeel sighed loudly, not even trying to argue about it.

Levy had turned around to glance over at Gajeel, and Natsu barely noticed the small hint of a blush on his friend's cheeks as Levy grinned at him.

"Lucy!" Mira suddenly called, and the blonde looked up almost immediately after her name was called. "You will be princess Rapunzel!" Lucy's eyes widened and then she giggled, nodding. "And as her prince," Mira grinned widely as her eyes landed on Natsu and Lucy blushed. "Flynn Rider will of course be Natsu!"

Natsu's eyes widened as he stared blankly at Mira, his cheeks turning red as he looked over at Lucy. She smiled at him, her cheeks a dark red as she quickly looked down at Levy that was grinning from ear to ear and wiggling her eyebrows at Natsu.

He felt an arm wrap around his neck and he looked up to find a grinning Gray. "Aren't you a lucky guy?" He chuckled when Natsu pushed him off of him.

"I can't believe you'll be Flynn Rider." Loke murmured. "I mean, if anyone should be Flynn Rider it should be me. You're the ugliest one out of all of us so you should be the Mad Hatter."

Natsu glared at him and flipped him off. "Apparently, Mira thinks you're the ugliest one."

Loke's eyes narrowed. "No, she's clearly aware of how handsome I am. She only picked you as Flynn Rider so you could be paired up with Lucy. That damn matchmaker wanted you two together." Loke muttered, puffing his chest out.

Gajeel sighed. "You dorks need to shut the hell up. You should be glad you didn't get the Beast."

Loke glared at him. "You'll at least get to wear a nice suit! I'm stuck with an ugly hat and makeup!"

Gajeel chuckled. "Right. Man, that really sucks for you."

They all started laughing and Loke glared at them. "Assholes."

* * *

Natsu yawned as he walked out of his house and towards the closest Starbucks. He had promised to meet up there with Gray. He had convinced him to go out bowling with him and some of his friends from elementary. Natsu had just wanted to stay home and play video games all night, but his friend had been persistent. Damn icicle.

He smiled as he shoved his hand into his pants' front pockets. Tomorrow he would get to see Lucy again and she would be dressed up like a princess. And he would be her prince. Somehow that made his heartbeats thump faster and he felt like such a lovesick girl.

The moment he walked into Starbucks, he saw Lucy sitting in the corner of the room and his eyes widened. The room was crowded, and Lucy seemed to be quite absorbed in the book she was reading. He thought about going up to her table and saying hi but he shook his head and instead made his way towards the line to order.

As he waited in line, he couldn't help looking her way. She was brushing a strand of her golden blonde hair out of her eyes as she continued to read her book.

"May I take your order?" the girl behind the counter said. Natsu's head shot up in surprise and he grinned sheepishly at the girl as he looked up at the menu that hang behind her.

He glanced behind him and towards Lucy before he looked back at the cashier and made up his mind.

"Two coffees please," he said to the cashier.

He paid and then scooted to the side of the room while he waited for them to finish making his order.

"Ready to go, tabasco freak?" Natsu looked and saw Gray grinning at him as he walked toward his pink haired friend.

"Actually," Natsu started and gave his friend an apologetic look. "Change of plans. I'm going to spend the afternoon with Lucy."

Gray stared at him. "What?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Natsu shrugged and then moved his gaze to the back of the room where Lucy sat at still completely immersed in her book.

Gray followed his gaze and smirked. "She doesn't know you're here, does she?"

Natsu sighed and shook his head. "But I'm planning to go up to her as soon as my order is ready."

"Two coffees for Natsu!"

The girl behind the counter called out his name and set his two coffees on the table. Natsu looked at Gray, looked at his coffees, and sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I really want to spend some time with Lucy." He told his friend, reaching to pick up the two cups.

A nudge to his shoulder caused Natsu to glance over at Gray. "Good luck man. Don't do anything stupid, it'll cause a bad impression." He smirked and Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Yeah… thanks."

Gray nodded and waved goodbye as he walked away.

Natsu sighed as he picked up his coffees and made his way across the room, walking towards where Lucy was sitting.

Natsu was within a foot of her before Lucy noticed him and looked up from her book. She gave him a look of surprise as she blinked a few times.

"Hey," she said as she looked up at him, her lips moving to form a smile as Natsu set the coffees down on the table. "What are you doing here?"

Her smile was genuine, and Natsu felt some of the tension in his shoulders start to disappear. He shifted to sit on the chair that was facing her and grinned back.

"I was supposed to meet up here with Gray but there was a change of plans," he said, pushing one of the cups towards her. "It looks like you don't have anything to drink. Want one?"

There was a brief pause during which she looked at the coffee cup he had pushed in her direction, and then she looked up at him. For some reason, he felt his face heat up. Lucy had warm, chocolate colored eyes that made it impossible for him to look away.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing the cup. "Thanks, Natsu."

She seemed pleasantly surprised that he had bought her a cup of coffee, and Natsu grinned, glad he had chosen to stay here with her.

"Have you tried on your costume yet?" She suddenly asked as she took a sip from her coffee.

Natsu nodded. Mira had asked him to go to her house on Tuesday to try on the costume. It had fitted just right and she had been quite pleased by that. "Yeah. You?"

She nodded, smiling widely. "Yeah. I'm glad Mira picked me to dress up as Rapunzel." She looked down shyly, her cheeks breaking into a light blush. "She's my favorite princess."

Natsu broke into a grin, "It's gonna be fun tomorrow."

Lucy giggled, nodding again.

She then looked up at the clock that hang on the wall and sighed. "I need to head back home." She shoved the book she had been reading into her sling bag and then grabbed her cup of coffee. "Thanks again." She told him as she smiled.

Natsu stood up as well, his heart thumping madly as he looked down at her. "Can… Can I walk you home?"

Lucy's eyes widened, her cheeks burning up. Her lips then curled upwards to a soft smile as she nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice."

Natsu cleared his throat, pretty flustered. "Great." He looked down at her and then smiled when he caught her still looking up at him.

She quickly looked away and started walking towards the exit. Maneuvering his way around the tables and chairs, Natsu made it to the exit and opened the door for Lucy, who looked up at him with dark cheeks and thanked him. He stepped out after her, a wide grin taking form on his lips as he stepped into the autumn breeze.

Natsu looked down at Lucy curiously as they walked side by side through the streets. He noticed that she was wearing her school uniform. She had on a navy blue jacket with a skirt of the same color and a red tie.

She looked up at him and smiled when she noticed he had been staring at her uniform. "I go to an all girls private school." She told him as she looked down at her uniform. "Fairy Hills."

He nodded. He had heard of that high school before, Gajeel told him Levy went there as well.

"Are you…" He started and then he cleared his throat. "Are you a third year?" He asked.

She looked up at him, silently staring at him before she shook her head. "I'm a second year." She grinned. "I'm seventeen."

He chuckled and nodded. "Oh. I thought you were also a third year, like me."

Lucy smiled. "Should I call you senpai?" She covered her mouth when he gawked at her and started laughing.

"No way." He murmured and she laughed even harder.

They continued their walk in silence after that. Natsu didn't mind the silence, but he couldn't help wondering what was going on in Lucy's mind.

Lucy sighed when they turned down the street that led to the Heartfilia residence, sheepishly glancing up at Natsu. "We're here." She mumbled, stopping in front of the entrance gates.

Natsu's eyes widened and Lucy giggled. "It's humongous." He murmured and she nodded, looking down.

"Yeah." She looked over at the mansion she lived in and sighed again. "It's got both its good and bad qualities."

Natsu raised an eyebrow but Lucy shook her head and said, "Thanks for walking me home, Natsu." She smiled and his cheeks turned a deep red as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.

"No problem, Lucy. I just wanted to make sure you got home safe." Her cheeks flushed and she looked down, her bangs covering her wide eyes.

"Thanks again." Lucy whispered, looking up at him again. He nodded and she smiled.

She nodded then, stalling a second longer. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

He smiled. "Yeah."

Lucy nodded again, mumbling a small goodbye before turning and slowly making her way towards the guards at the gate. Natsu watched her walk away and she turned around just before walking into her home and waved at him, smiling before she closed the door behind her.

Natsu grinned to himself as he walked home, a little too excited for Halloween. He wanted to see Lucy in her costume. He wanted to be her prince. His cheeks turned a bright red and he shook his head. What the hell was he thinking?!

He stopped and looked up at the moon. He grinned and shook his head again. A month. That was all it had taken.

Just a month for him to fall for her.

Or maybe 8.2 seconds, but who was really counting?

* * *

 **Author's Note: What you think of the chaper?! Please leave a review and let me know! Thank you so much to all of you that favorited and followed my story!**

 **Thanks for reading :)**

 **Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima!**

 **Song: Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows**

 **Blue**


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